The period following the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, was marked by rapid change for the people of East Germany. They experienced the collapse of their state, which had a wide-ranging impact on their living conditions.

It was a time of profound upheaval. On the one hand, undreamt-of opportunities opened up: people benefited from new freedoms of travel, democracy, and greater opportunities for personal development. On the other hand, a comprehensive transformation process began, which was associated with uncertainties, losses, and fears.

Not only adults, but also children and young people faced an uncertain future. With the disappearance of familiar structures, diverse subcultures emerged, ranging from punk and techno to right-wing extremist movements. They offered community, but also came into conflict with each other.

The punk Burkhard Strelow came from the Cottbus region and was doing his military service and was a border guard in Berlin when the Wall fell. Christian Reichl was nine years old at the time and attended elementary school in Schwarzenberg, Saxony.

Both have donated personal items to the Berlin Wall Foundation to preserve their perspectives on this period.

We present their stories on the following pages.